On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Genesis 2:2-3, NLT

God did not need to rest. He was modeling for His creation that we need to slow down and relax. Think of that. The God of Creation can kick back and enjoy what has been accomplished. Our Creator is telling us that we are creatures and not machines. What is wrong with us that we cannot take moments to enjoy and appreciate both our gifts of grace and the work of our hands?

God understood that the body, mind, and spirit need rest and refueling time. Our culture has lost that instinct and ability to give ourselves permission to rest. Now a worldwide pandemic has forced many of us to slow down. For some it has been a maddening and boring time. For others it has been a revelation of how our busy lives have caused us to forget the simple and sacred moments of daily living.

Jesus demonstrated that the command for Sabbath observance was not about following a hyperlegalistic rule. It was about taking the time to get over ourselves and see what God is doing. Remember this encounter with the Sabbath police?

One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples
through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were
pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them.
Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: “Your disciples
are breaking the Sabbath rules!”
Jesus said, “Really? Didn’t you ever read what David
and his companions did when they were hungry, how
they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the
altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to
eat? And didn’t you ever read in God’s Law that priests
carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules
all the time and it’s not held against them?
“There is far more at stake here than religion. If
you had any idea what this Scripture meant‘
I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’— you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to
the Sabbath; he’s in charge.”
Matthew 1 2 : 1 – 8 , The Message

While I am reasonably sure that Jesus did not say “lackey” to the Pharisees, it sure is fun to think about. But the point is that the heart of Sabbath is not rule keeping. It is resting in the One who is our Sabbath. I can acknowledge that God has this under control and He can get by just fine without my assistance for a few hours. Writer Wendell Berry captured the spirit of letting go of my need to control every moment:

“Sabbath observance invites us to stop. It invites us to rest.
It asks us to notice that while we rest the world continues
without our help. It invites us to find delight in the world’s
beauty and abundance.”

The world gets along just fine without my help. That is disappointing and liberating at the same time. Noted author Dallas Willard, who possessed a far bigger brain than I have, says this about the fourth commandment:

“The command is ‘Do no work.’ Just make space. Attend to
what is around you. Learn that you don’t have to do to be.
Accept the grace of doing nothing. Stay with it until you stop
jerking and squirming.”

Accept the grace of doing nothing. I love that thought. I failed to recognize how innocuous and mundane little activities add up, draining my life battery.

Sabbath truly is vital to our very well-being. It can be an oasis in the desert of busy living. God does not ordinarily clamor for my attention. He waits quietly for me to show up, be still, and spend time with Him. I don’t do that often enough.

This time of rest might have been forced upon us but we would do well to learn the lessons of reflection, time, and worship. Things will return to busy soon. Let’s not forget the sacred value of Sabbath.